Disney Magic Review

To say the handful of staff and franchisees that were lucky to have been selected to visit the Disney Magic were excited, was a gross understatement.

Cruising can be many things to many people, but put the name Disney in front of it and it changes the expectations completely.

Putting in a rare appearance at a UK port, the Disney Magic was docked at the Port of Dover and seemed to turn the port authority staff and travel agent visitors into a bunch of children.

The first thing you do when starting any Disney experience is look out for the well loved characters, and it wasn’t long before I caught my first glimpse of Goofy hanging off the back of the ship as he was adding the finishing touches of paint to it’s aft.

As we embarked the ship we were greeted in the atrium by a bronze statue of Captain Mickey.

The beautifully styled atrium was nothing like I had been expecting. No bright colours or Disney images, just the subtle touches of Disney here and there.

It was a gorgeous sunny August day and we made our way up to the pool deck. For me this is my favourite part of the ship. There was Goofy’s pool, which has a movie screen and the splash area with water slide for thrill seekers. There is also a quiet Cove Pool for the adults only to retreat from the excitement of the younger and older kids.

I was impressed to see pool vests available for children taking that extra step in safety as Disney is well known for.

Beautiful art can be seen throughout the ship which takes on many forms from sketches to oil paintings.

Every stateroom onboard a Disney ship has a separate bathroom and toilet, which is a godsend when travelling with children. Every bathroom has a bath in it as well regardless of which type of room you go for. The décor has a subtle Disney feel to it and nothing like I was expecting.

Needless to say there has been no skimping on facilities for kids clubs. Disney has huge areas for all age groups.

The main dining room, Animation Palate is something else. As you enter the restaurant, you are surrounded by black and white sketch drawings. But during the course of the evening colour explodes from the paintbrushes and colours the entire room.

Of course it would not be Disney without it’s own theatre and the incredible shows they put on the ships. I can’t help but thing of the movie “Saving Mr Banks” everytime I see a picture of Walt Disney.

Of course I couldn’t resist the opportunity to have my photo taken with the lovely Anna and Elsa to end a wonderful day onboard the Disney Magic.